Date: Mon, 15 Jul 1996 09:59:37 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 07/15/96 AIDS Daily Summary July 15, 1996 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ****************************************************** "In the AIDS Fight, Bells of Hope From Vancouver" "View From Vancouver: Cautiously Celebrating New AIDS Treatment" "Heimlich Tries Using Malaria as Low-Cost HIV Treatment" "In Fighting HIV, the Privileged Are a World Apart" "AIDS Conference Serves Up Dizzying Menu of Information, But No Set Course of Action" "AIDS Babies: Hope and Resistance" "Top Researcher Lauds Cel-Sci's AIDS Vaccine" "BioChem Shares Rebound on AIDS Studies" "HIV and the Mind" "Success of Combination Therapy Drives the Push for Earlier Treatment" "PROGRESS REPORT: Implementation of Advisory Council" ****************************************************** "In the AIDS Fight, Bells of Hope From Vancouver" New York Times (07/15/96) P. A7; Dunlap, David W. Reports from the international AIDS conference held in Vancouver last week buoyed the hopes of AIDS patients around the country and represented a cultural shift in the AIDS epidemic. Studies released demonstrated that HIV can be suppressed in patients, suggesting that AIDS will be treated someday as a long-term disease. While many people with HIV plan to live short lives--and may give up careers and relationships and cash in insurance policies as a result--this is changing as more and more patients survive longer. However, the cost of the drugs is a concern, leading to criticism of the pharmaceutical industry. "View From Vancouver: Cautiously Celebrating New AIDS Treatment" Wall Street Journal (07/15/96) P. B1; Chase, Marilyn While studies presented last week at the 11th International Conference on AIDS led to discussion of a cure for AIDS, some scientists say the tone is overly optimistic. With three new protease inhibitors, patients are regaining health, but peer-reviewed studies have not been completed yet. Furthermore, although there is hope that the drugs will allow patients to survive longer by keeping HIV under control, additional research is needed to determine which drugs are most effective. Drawbacks to the new therapies include side effects, potential drug resistance, and the high cost of the drugs. "Heimlich Tries Using Malaria as Low-Cost HIV Treatment" Washington Times (07/15/96) P. A12; Woods, Michael Dr. Henry Heimlich, the doctor credited with the Heimlich maneuver, has reported progress toward a cheap HIV therapy. In developing countries, where 90 percent of people infected with HIV live, an inexpensive treatment is critical. Heimlich's therapy is based on an old treatment for neurosyphilis, a brain infection that once killed thousands of people. The treatment involves infecting a patient with an easily curable form of malaria and then curing the disease. The malaria stimulates the immune system, and continues to fight off HIV after being cured. The therapy has been tested in eight patients, and a larger clinical trial is planned. "In Fighting HIV, the Privileged Are a World Apart" USA Today (07/15/96) P. 4D; Painter, Kim The 11th International Conference on AIDS was marked by optimism that new drug combinations could suppress HIV but tainted with pessimism that 90 percent of HIV-infected people would not have access to the drugs. People in developing countries cannot afford the costly drugs, and prevention efforts are making only a small impact on the epidemic. Poverty and indifference are primary barriers to treating HIV, said Martin Schechter, co-chair of the conference. Treatment recommendations were offered at the meeting but will likely change soon as more information is released. "AIDS Conference Serves Up Dizzying Menu of Information, But No Set Course of Action" Washington Post (07/13/96) P. A3; Brown, David The 11th International Conference on AIDS gave doctors new information, recommendations, and warnings about treating patients with HIV, but how these new findings will be implemented is unpredictable. The information will likely start a trend toward aggressive therapy. No one combination is known to be the best, however, and new drugs will give doctors still more options before testing can determine their use. Currently, with the nine anti-HIV medicines now available in the United States, doctors have more than 500 possible treatment options to choose from. "AIDS Babies: Hope and Resistance" Washington Post (07/13/96) P. A18 An editorial in the Washington Post claims that, based on new research on mother-to-child transmission of HIV, mandatory testing of pregnant women is even more important than was previously thought. The argument that women's privacy should be protected is now less persuasive, the editors say, as new research shows that, if a woman is identified as HIV-positive, precautions during delivery can help protect her child from becoming infected. While testing newborns is helpful, however, Congress has delayed a decision on mandatory newborn testing until the year 2000. The authors criticize this decision and point out that the American Medical Association has endorsed mandatory HIV tests for all pregnant women. "Top Researcher Lauds Cel-Sci's AIDS Vaccine" Washington Post (07/13/96) P. F1; Segal, David Cel-Sci, a small Alexandria, Va.-based biotechnology company, was vaulted into the spotlight last week when a leading AIDS researcher reported that its experimental AIDS vaccine protected laboratory mice from HIV infection. Analysts predict that Cel-Sci will be an important player in the race for an AIDS vaccine, a race with especially high earning potential. James Kahn, director of independent studies of AIDS at San Francisco's General Hospital, reported at the International Conference on AIDS Thursday that 78 percent of the mice infected with HIV were protected by the vaccine. In the last six months, Cel-Sci's stock price has increased 217 percent. "BioChem Shares Rebound on AIDS Studies" Toronto Globe and Mail (07/12/96) P. B10; Stinson, Marian BioChem Pharma shares turned around Thursday in response to studies about the effectiveness of new AIDS treatments. A combination therapy that includes BioChem's 3TC was able to control the level of HIV in patients. The stock closed at $41.50 per share on the Montreal Stock Exchange Thursday, up $1.55 from early in the day. On Wednesday, it dropped $6.25 due to concern that new drugs would compete with 3TC, sold by Glaxo-Wellcome. The stock was up $1.37 to $30.62 in New York. "HIV and the Mind" Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (06/96) Vol. 2, No. 6, P. 18; Mascolini, Mark The seventh Neuroscience of HIV Infection conclave held in Paris this spring was marked by a lack of new research on HIV-associated neurologic diseases. Researchers heard the results of one trial of a new drug for AIDS dementia, anecdotal reports on a drug for intractable neuropathic pain, and a trial of a compound that may ease both wasting and myopathy. One reason for the dearth of new projects may be that many scientists expected the disease to be treated adequately with antiretrovirals. Defining and recognizing HIV-induced neurocognitive disorders are primary problems in managing the disease. One study identified a condition called minor cognitive-motor disorder and found that its frequency increases as HIV disease progresses. Also discussed were advances in diagnosing sensory neuropathy using skin and brain biopsies, and polymerase chain reaction assessment, though basic questions about how HIV enters the brain, how it triggers cytokines, and how they contribute to neurologic disease will require further research. Treatment strategies for HIV-related neurologic disorders include attacking the virus, lessening inflammation, and protecting the neurons. "Success of Combination Therapy Drives the Push for Earlier Treatment" AIDS Alert (06/96) Vol. 11, No. 6, P. 61 A small clinical trial testing a combination of ritonavir, or Norvir, and nucleoside analogs in newly infected HIV patients, has shown that the therapy can lower the viral load to undetectable levels for up to two years. The trial, led by Dr. Martin Markowitz of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, may result in a standard of starting treatment as early as diagnosis. Studies are underway comparing newly infected patients treated with two combinations--ritonavir, zidovudine (AZT), and lamivudine (3TC) versus indinavir (Crixivan), AZT, and 3TC. The push to treat patients early increased in 1995 when Aaron Diamond researchers also discovered that HIV begins replicating rapidly from the onset of infection. Moreover, as use of protease inhibitors gains steam, viral load testing will become an important tool for monitoring antiretroviral treatment and patient management. Studies have suggested, but not proven, that survival can be predicted by viral load. How viral load measurements will be used remains to be determined, but most researchers agree that they are useful when the burden is very high or very low. "PROGRESS REPORT: Implementation of Advisory Council" Recommendations, Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (7/8/96) The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS released a PROGRESS REPORT: Implementation of Advisory Council Recommendations on July 8, 1996, in order to highlight the continuing interchange between President Clinton and his Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. The report includes the Council's recommendations to the Administration, the Administration's responses, and the Council's evaluation of these responses. The Council's purpose has been to advise the President on what his Administration can and should do to stop the spread of the epidemic, to find a cure and vaccine for HIV, to provide the best possible treatment and care to those who are infected, and to end HIV-related discrimination and intolerance. The Council has developed recommendations in five subject areas: Presidential leadership, research, prevention, services, and discrimination. The report contains their first two sets of recommendations (issued in July and December of 1995), the Administration's action in response to each recommendation, their evaluation of this response, and their proposed follow up. It also includes their third set of recommendations, made in April 1996. To order a copy of the report, call the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse at 1-800-458-5231 or view it online on the CDC NAC web site at http://www.cdcnac.org.